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• One of the primary goals of our work, no matter what the technique, is to help clients refine the perceptive capability of their felt body sense (proprioception, interoception, exteroception, etc.). The benefits of increased body awareness are profound and wide reaching, ranging from more sustainable in-the-moment choices about posture and comfort to better coordination and increased overall well-being. 17 The Breath Sandwich Technique ("Working With Whiplash, Part I: Hot Whiplash," Massage & Bodywork, March/April 2010, page 111) is an example of a technique that focuses primarily on the client's proprioception. AREAS OF OVERLAP This article has introduced a few ways that fascial understanding informs our Advanced Myofascial Techniques approach. I have described continuity, plasticity, and sensitivity as separate phenomena, but there are large areas of overlap between these three fascial qualities. For instance, it's likely that fascia's plasticity is intimately linked to its sensitivity. And fascia's sensitivity as a sensory organ can be augmented or hindered by its web-like continuity. Finally, fascia's degree of continuity (how connected or how separate it is) is directly related to its textural plasticity and elasticity. Even though describing them separately here helps us better understand and appreciate all of fascia's remarkable qualities, in practice, we work with all three of these qualities simultaneously in our hands-on work, just as the fascia itself is an undivided whole. Notes 1. Helene M. Langevin, MD, and Peter A. Huijing, PhD, "Communicating About Fascia: History, Pitfalls, and Recommendations," International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork 2, no. 4 (2009): 3–8. 2. Robert Schleip et al., Fascia, The Tensional Network of the Human Body (Elsevier, 2012). 3. Peter A. Huijing, "Muscular Force Transmission: A Unified, Dual or Multiple System? A Review and Some Explorative Experimental Results," Archives of Physiology and Biochemistry 107 (1999): 292–311. 4. Ida Rolf, Rolfing: The Integration of Human Structures (New York: Harper and Row, 1977). 5. Dean P. Currier and Roger M. Nelson, Dynamics of Human Biologic Tissues (Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company, 1992), and H. Chaudhry et al., "Three-Dimensional Mathematical Model for Deformation of Human Fascia," Journal of the American Osteopathic Association 108 (2011): 379–90. 6. Luigi Stecco, Fascial Manipulation for Musculoskeletal Pain (Piccin Nuova Libreria, 2004), 19. 7. K.G. Helmer, G. Nair, and M. Cannella, "Water Movement in Tendon in Response to a Repeated Static Tensile Load Using One-Dimensional Magnetic Resonance Imaging," Journal of Biomechanical Engineering 128, no. 5 (2006): 733–41. 8. Robert Schleip, Fascial Research Group FAQ, accessed February 2014, www.fasciaresearch.de/faq#Q5. 9. Robert Schleip, "Fascial Plasticity—A New Neurobiological Explanation, Part 1," Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies 7, no. 1 (2003): 11–19. 10. Jere H. Mitchell and Robert F. Schmidt, "Cardiovascular Reflex Control by Afferent Fibers from Skeletal Muscle Receptors," in Handbook of Physiology, ed. J.T. Shepherd et al., Section 2, Vol. III, Part 2 (Bethesda: American Physiological Society, 1977), 623–58. 11. C. Stecco et al., "Histological Study of the Deep Fasciae of the Limbs," Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies 12, no. 3 (2008): 225–30. 12. P.J. Barker and C.A. Briggs, "Anatomy and Biomechanics of the Lumbar Fasciae: Implications for Lumbopelvic Control and Clinical Practice," in Movement, Stability and Lumbopelvic Pain, Andry Vleeming et al. (Edinburgh: Elsevier, 2007): 64–73. 13. Nam G. Lee and Joshua H. You, "Effects of Trigger Point Pressure Release on Pain Modulation and Associated Movement Impairments in a Patient with Severe Acute Myofascial Pain Syndrome: A Case Report," The Pain Clinic 19, no. 2 (2007): 83–7. 14. Kim LeMoon, "Clinical Reasoning in Massage Therapy," International Journal of Therapeutic Bodywork and Massage 1, no. 1 (2008). 15. A. Stecco et al., "Ultrasonography in Myofascial Neck Pain: Randomized Clinical Trial for Diagnosis and Follow-Up," Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy (August 23, 2013). 16. H.M. Langevin, "Connective Tissue: A Body-Wide Signaling Network?" Medical Hypotheses 66: 1,074–7. 17. Emma Seppälä, "Decoding the Body Watcher," Scientific American (April 3, 2012). Til Luchau is a member of the Advanced-Trainings.com faculty, which offers distance learning and in-person seminars throughout the United States and abroad. He is a Certified Advanced Rolfer and originator of the Advanced Myofascial Techniques approach. Contact him via info@advanced-trainings.com and Advanced-Trainings.com's Facebook page. I t p a y s t o b e A B M P C e r t i f i e d : w w w. a b m p . c o m / g o / c e r t i f i e d c e n t r a l 117 Fascial layers are often richly embedded with free nerve endings and other mechanoreceptors, such as the Pacinian corpuscles (pictured here in the superficial fascia and hypodermis), as well as Ruffini endings in deeper fascia. Image courtesy artist Hank Grebe, mediaspin.com, used by permission. 5 FREE ABMP WEBINAR "Understanding Fascial Change" with Til Luchau July 9, 2014, 6:00 p.m. MDT www.abmp.com/practitioners/calendar.php Join Til Luchau as he presents a concise model for working with fascia, informed by the latest fascial research and the long lineage of fascial practitioners that includes Andrew Taylor Still, Ida Rolf, and more. He will demonstrate techniques that exemplify different fascial approaches via a live video feed.